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TIL: President George Washington was a lieutenant colonel in the British Army. He was unsuccessful in obtaining a royal commission but received a decree granting the British militia the same executive powers as commissioned officers. He is the only U.S President to have served the Crown.

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VMeXk TIL Mandrake, a root of a plant which sometimes resembles a human. It has long been steeped in the occult and medieval lore. The root was believed to bear hallucinogenic and narcotic properties and used in the treatment of headaches, earaches, gout and insanity to name a few.
dYZ8 TIL that during WW2 a “Bat Bomb” was created. As the bomb descended the bats would warm up and awaken from hibernation. At 1,000 ft. altitude, the bomb would open and 1000+ bats, each carrying a tiny time-delayed napalm incendiary device would emerge.
jopN TIL during the filming of To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee was a guest on set and Gregory Peck noticed her crying after the first scene was shot. She explained that he looked just like her late father, right down to his pot belly. He replied, “That’s not a pot belly, Harper, that’s great acting.”
5VAAr Today I learned there is another dwarf planet further than Pluto called Gongong.
8aVLZ TIL of the death of Don Henry and Keven Ives, who were hit by a train as they lay on the tracks. The deaths were initially ruled an accident as a result of the boys sleeping on the tracks due to marijuana intoxication. The cause of death was changed to "definite homicide" after a second autopsy.